Preds see improvement in Watson

Yesterday, for my story on Marek Svatos, I talked to David Poile. And when you talk to the General Manager, you want to go over a lot of topics. After all, he is pretty much responsible for the overall success of the organization.

One of the subjects brought up was Austin Watson. Nashville’s first round-pick in he 2010 draft was not selected for the United States’ World Junior team. The tournament is currently going on in Buffalo, N.Y.

Normally, you would like your first-round picks to play in the tournament. They’re competing with the best their country and others have to offer. It’s a great situation for their development. While Poile said he would have “loved to have seen” Watson in the World Juniors, that in no way is a definitive statement on his development. In fact, Poile has seen marked improvement in the power forward.

After starting the year with 16 points in 22 games for Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League, Watson has 18 in his last 12.

“His hands are improving, his scoring has improved. Defensively he really plays well, he has good detail to his game as (Coach) Barry (Trotz) would say, but a lot of improvement,” Poile said. “Maybe some guy is ahead of him today. Let’s gauge this when he’s 22 or 23, how good he is.”